Most of us have been there. Whether we want to be or not. We all have last minute events, long awaited weddings, or just need a new pair of pants. No matter the reason, the dressing room has always been a point of contention for me. I can’t say that every dressing room incident has been torturous but 7 out of 10 times I leave that room with self loathing and anger towards whoever dared go clothes shopping with me. (sorry to my husband..)

This is a place where you can walk in feeling hopeful and happy about yourself and your day, and by the time you walk out you not only hate yourself but everything and everyone around you. That might sound a little harsh, but it is SO true.

Tonight I needed to go to Macy’s to find a dress for a wedding I am attending this weekend. Needless to say, I had two days to find a dress and could not leave the store without one. With that in mind I decided it was best to keep a positive attitude, and as I picked through the racks I said in my head, ” You will find something tonight and you will look and feel great in it.” Turns out positive affirmations work. (I must give a shoutout to my twin sister Angela who constantly talks up the power of positive affirmations.)

As I stood in the dressing room trying on dress after dress I overheard a lot of negative talk by different groups of women. One girl said to her friend, ” If only this was black, I can only wear black to hide my rolls” , “My arms look fat, I can’t wear this” and lastly, “I am going to wear Spanx every day with or without dresses so I can eat more icecream.”

Ok the last comment was funny, but the others bothered me. Why is it that every experience in a dressing room has to be so sucky? We laugh and joke while shopping with friends, but of course it bothers us when we don’t like how we look and can’t seem to find anything that fits.

I walked out with 3 dresses and liked each one. Maybe it was my lucky day, or maybe it was the positive affirmations. Either way I am learning that we need to start feeling more positive about ourselves and take pride in how we look. For me that is feeling healthy and vibrant, which is why eating clean healthy foods and regular exercise is becoming a priority in my everyday life.

So c’mon ladies ( and guys) let’s stop with the negative talk and start winking in the mirror.